A Muggle's Tale
by Gray Fox2
Summary: What happens when Lucius Malfoy sits down and talks to a very remarkable Muggle?
1. It Begins

Allow me to introduce myself, Fair Readers. I am Iana Malfoy. No, I am not Draco Malfoy's Daughter, Sister, Aunt, Grandmother, Niece, or wife. I am, in fact...well, I'll let you see for yourself.  
  
My story begins on a day like none other. Contrary to what you all are most likely thinking, I am not, in fact, a witch. Nor am I a wizard. I am a muggle woman, and proud of it. Now, you're probably wondering what kind of muggle would be a Malfoy, correct? Allow me to begin my tale.  
  
As before noted, I am not a witch...though I am very strong with magic. Don't ask me how I'm so strong with magic, because even before, when I was Iana Salem instead of Iana Malfoy, using innate magic was my second nature. Honestly, I have never known a time when I have NOT used innate magic. What is the difference between innate and practiced magic, you ask? Innate magical abilities are with you instinctively.no words are spoken, no wand is used, no ingredients are stirred. It just...comes to you. I suppose this and the fact that I have too kind of a heart is what threw me into the company of one of the most unpleasant gentlemen that I have ever and will ever have the...pleasure- if you can call it that- of knowing.  
  
My dear Papa had been thrown into the hospital when a nasty bout of pneumonia took over his aging body. Mum and Dad were reluctant to let me see him...but a 5'5 sixteen year old with long brown hair, fierce brown eyes and a nasty temper isn't something to just push off...especially when her favorite grandfather is in the hospital. So, the parentlings took me to the hospital to visit Papa on a coldish November day that would change my life for an eternity...  
  
"Hurry UP, Iana!" A woman of approximately forty-seven called up the stairs of the Salem's two story home in Boston, Massachusetts. She was of light build with only faint traces of gray creeping through her black hair. Her face was kindly and gentle, set in a motherly fashion that attracted children to her naturally.  
  
"I'm COMING, Mum!" Came the melodic voice from upstairs. "Good Lord! Not like I'm Super Girl, you know!" Coming down the stairs in a rush, while pulling on her stylish leather jacket was a young girl of about sixteen, she had long, straight brown hair that fell to the middle of her back and was naturally wild. Her eyes were a dark brown, nearly black, and her skin was tanned in a natural way. She grabbed the keys to her mother's car on her way by and was waiting in the car when her mother gathered her purse and followed her out. Iana slid an Eminem CD into the disk drive in the car and smirked as her mom groaned. Then she buckled up, glanced over each shoulder, and began the drive to the Hospital, with only a few minor mishaps.  
  
Something was terribly wrong in the hospital. That much was obvious by the way all of the strange people in cloaks and masks bustled around, snapping at all of the doctors, surgeons, and nurses in sight to "SAVE HIM!!!" Always the curious one, Iana peered past one of their shoulders into the room that they were pointing to. On the bed lay a man of about twenty...writhing in agony. Her mother had moved on ahead to meet her father, who was waiting down the hall for them, they turned without even noticing their daughter was no longer with them and continued on.  
  
Shrugging, Iana walked into the hospital room and watched as every single doctor, nurse, and surgeon that touched him was immediately sent screaming out of the room in anger, fear, or hatred. Chuckling, she approached the bed, pulling her unruly hair into a tight bun as she did. The bed's occupant, a man with icy silver eyes and blonde hair nearly as long as Iana's own hair, turned a chilling gaze to this new offender who dared approach his bed.  
  
"What do you want, Muggle?" He spat, though each breath he took caused more pain, "You here to torture me more?!" Obviously, Iana reflected, this one didn't trust doctors. She snorted softly.  
  
"Come off of it." Her voice was kind, despite herself, and when she touched his bleeding wound- though he flinched- her touch was gentler than the softest of silk. "This is a nasty cut...how did you get it, a gang fight?" She was concentrating on channeling her innate abilities as she talked, stroking the wound.  
  
"You could say that..." He couldn't believe it...she didn't even know him and yet, here she was, taking care of him. He'd killed so many people in his past...so many had died at his hands...so many...his wife...his daughter, his son had nearly died numerous times. And yet here was this young, muggle, female- healing him! He choked and started to speak...but in the next second, she was done...and gone.  
  
Iana and her family were visiting relatives in London a few weeks later, much to Iana's chagrin...as she preferred their annual camping trip in the mountains of Wyoming...when a group of robed people burst in. Iana and her cousin, Evan, were in the back talking when they heard the door burst open. Iana peered through a crack in the door, watching in fear as a wand was pointed towards her aunt. Something was whispered, and Tealan Salem fell dead to the floor. Matthew Salem stood up to challenge the intruders...but he too was killed. Iana and Evan exchanged glances, as Fiona, the cat, knocked over a vase, causing it to shatter. Iana shrunk from the door, but it was too late. She'd been seen.  
  
Pushing Evan ahead of her, out the window, Iana started to follow when a cruel hand grabbed her hair from behind and jerked her back inside. She slammed down the window, locking Evan out, and turned to face her attacker, in her hand grew a ball of fire and she threw it at him. As he ducked, Iana turned and fled to the kitchen, where a second door led to the alley behind the house. Just to run into a strong chest...looking up, she saw a pair of icy gray eyes, and then all when black.  
  
When she began to come to, Iana felt a sickening pain in her forehead. Reaching up, she felt warmth, which-on closer inspection- was blood...a mirror was shattered nearby somewhere, and in one of the shards she caught sight of a heart-shaped scar in the center of her forehead. Looking up, she saw the same man from the hospital conferring with several other men. They were laughing and talking about some "Master" who'd be pleased...something about five muggles dead and one Mudblood orphaned...  
  
She moaned and sat up. The men turned and literally looked like they'd all seen a ghost... "She's still alive!" One of them hissed.  
  
"How?!" Another asked, and all eyes turned to the tall blonde man.  
  
"Perhaps, summoning our Master is what is required here..." He said, looking at them.  
  
Iana didn't know what he meant...but it couldn't be good for her...not with the hungry way the two men behind the blonde man were looking at her. She met his eyes with her brown ones and hers widened...it was the man from the hospital!  
  
Ironic, she reflected, how she hadn't made the connection before...what with them saying "muggles" over and over. He didn't recognize her...which was understandable...she was wearing her hair down for once. The hair tie was, however, around her right wrist, and she deftly pulled her unruly hair into a severe bun- causing the poor blonde man to do one hell of a double take. One minute he was turning away to begin "summoning the master" and the next he was on his ass staring at her. The other men must not have been very bright, being as there were only two of them and they seemed more muscle...as if they were for body guard purposes only...and Iana somehow found it in her to pity them as they looked at their "leader" as if he'd just flipped his lid and left them with no one to tell them what to do and how to do it.  
  
"Well..." She managed to say... "This sure beats camping in Wyoming..."  
  
The two men behind the blonde man stared at her stupidly, but the blonde stood up and looked at her, a hint of amusement dawning in his icy eyes. Lovely eyes, the thought found its way past her terror and into the logical...if you could call it that...part of her mind. Of course, now wasn't the time for such thoughts...or thoughts such as the ones that were passing through her head and making her heart speed up- whether in fear or something...else...she didn't know.  
  
He grabbed her roughly, though he jolted...as if the move pained him as much as it hurt her- bruising her arms and twisting it brutally. "Who are you." He hissed...it wasn't a question, more of an order...as if he wasn't used to asking.  
  
She closed her eyes, concealing the rush of pain, and whispered- all the while willing herself not to cry out- "Iana Salem..." But she flawed...in opening her mouth, a whimper of pain so soft that a normal person wouldn't have heard it escaped.  
  
He wasn't a normal person. His grip loosened the moment he heard the sound, a move that confused him almost as much as it confused her. He turned to his bodyguardish friends. "Crabbe, Goyle...go to the Master...report that all muggles in the house died..."  
  
"Duh...what about this one?" One of them asked. The blonde man had turned back to Iana, but now he grit his teeth in a most annoyed fashion and turned to glare at them, hissing through clenched teeth in a way that told Iana that he didn't like being questioned.  
  
"I'll HANDLE it! Now, go! Both of you..." He added, when the second began to speak. They looked at each other and shuddered, then they disappeared with a rather loud *POP* and the blonde turned back to her.  
  
His left hand moved from her right arm to her forehead, delicately tracing the perfect heart-shaped scar on it. "No one has ever before survived Avada Kedavra...and yet, you survived." His eyes slowly moved from her forehead to meet her eyes. "How?"  
  
When she didn't speak, he continued, as if he hadn't expected an answer to begin with. "No muggle could do it...it takes magic to block magic..." He turned and walked into the den of the once happy home. Iana looked at the door, hesitated, and then she followed.  
  
He was chuckling in an almost warm way when she walked in. "Not many people would willingly follow Lucius Malfoy unless they stood to gain something." He was sitting on the sofa, watching her as she entered the room.  
  
"I'm not like most people." Her voice was calm, without any trace of fear. For indeed, she no longer felt the terror that she had in the past. If he was to kill her, he'd kill her one way or another...whether or not she could defend herself. So she sat beside him on the sofa and waited.  
  
"I can see that. Nearly any other person would be dead after the curse you endured." He looked at a piece of polished stick in his hand. "Makes me wonder if my old wand isn't losing its touch."  
  
"Pardon?" She blinked. Wand? Well, that was certainly a surprise...  
  
He held up the stick and showed it to her, then he chuckled and asked her in a whisper, "Want to see something?" At her confused, but curious nod, he pointed the polished stick at her and said softly "Wingardium Leviosa." She felt the most curious floating sensation as he twitched the stick. She looked down and nearly screamed, her eyes widening in fright. He immediately let her back down. "I apologize.I didn't mean to scare you."  
  
She looked up at him. "Y-you didn't scare me...I was just...surprised." She resumed her former, more comfortable position and lifted her hand, gathering her energy and channeling it. A lovely flower rose from the vase that Aunt Tealan kept in the corner and floated to her. She handed it to Lucius and smiled, then she leaned against the couch, summoned the remote to her, and turned on the T.V.  
  
The first thing she became aware of was Lucius tipping the couch over in his rush to get away from the little people in the Television. Iana shrieked as she flew over backwards with the couch and landed on her head. Poor Lucius was so confused by the "muggle magic" as he called it, that he was actually hiding behind Iana. She looked at him, his eyes wide with fear and confusion, and smiled, then she turned off the television.  
  
"Haven't you ever heard of a T.V?" She asked him, righting the chair and turning to look up at him. He met her eyes squarely.  
  
"No..." his voice was laden with confusion. "I'm...not from the world of TV's and those things that you call 'cars.' I'm...I'm a wizard, Iana..."  
  
She shivered inside as he said her name, then she picked up the remote. "Don't be scared..." She assured him, and then she turned it back on and turned the volume down. "It's called electricity...it runs through the house to make the lights and everything else function. Watch." She walked over to the light and flipped the switch, turning it off. Lucius looked around, somewhat fascinated.  
  
"Even when the light is off, it shines with light..." He turned to look at her. She laughed softly and turned the light back on. "How do they do it all?"  
  
"Well..." She began, chewing on her lower lip. "I suppose, it's because we never had magic to help us learn these things, and so had to substitute many, many things."  
  
At that moment a loud pop was heard in the kitchen and Lucius looked up as a cloaked figure walked in. He immediately fell to his knees, leaving Iana standing off to the side with no idea what in the name of Sam's Hill was happening. The cloaked figure pushed back it's hood, revealing a most revolting face...it was that of a snake, including the slanted eyes and slit nostrils. Iana couldn't tell from the angle she was looking at, but she'd bet money that there was a forked tongue in the mouth as well. His voice came in a hiss.  
  
"Malfoy..."  
  
"Master..." Lucius was kissing the hems of 'Master's' robes as if his very life depended on it. Seeing the polished stick...wand, Iana corrected herself...in his hand, she had no doubts that his very life DID depend on it.  
  
"Malfoy, why does the muggle girl live?"  
  
"Beloved Master, she is unlike most muggles...she survived Avada..."  
  
"Impossible!" 'Master' cut in, "NOBODY has ever survived Avada Kedavra." His voice was cruel.  
  
"Yes Master, but the girl did survive...the scar...on her forehead..."  
  
'Master' moved swiftly to Iana and she took a single step back, and then stood her ground, her chin up in defiant pride as she gazed at him. He grabbed her chin roughly, nearly dislocating her jaw, and studied her forehead. She bore it for a few moments...and then summoned her innate energy, sending a wave of it into the insolent creature- for she doubted he was fully human- and sending him slamming into the wall.  
  
"Stupid girl!" He stood. "One does not just throw Voldemort into the wall!!!" He stood and advanced a second time. "Stupid, but brave. You do not flinch or cower...very brave. Foolish, yes, but brave." He reached a sickeningly thin hand up to trace the scar with the tip of his finger. "Malfoy."  
  
"Master?" The addressed party was back on his feet, standing a respectful distance away.  
  
"Take her to your home. She is to be the nurse for your son...and may she do a better job than his older sister did..." The warning was clear in Voldemort's tone. Iana lifted her hand a second time and sent Voldemort back into the wall. He snarled as he stood, taking a step towards her, but she lifted her hand a third time.  
  
"I don't take kindly to people who threaten me." Her voice was menacing. "And should I go anywhere, it would be of my own accord." She lifted her chin; her nostrils flared in defiance, and turned to Lucius. "And I have decided that I will, indeed, go with you." She sensed the foolish 'Master' advance further and turned, not even bothering to lift her hand this time, her nostrils flaring further as she knocked him back into the wall.  
  
"Another thing" She snapped. "Don't come near me." She turned and looked up at Lucius, nodding as he rested his hand on her shoulder. She felt the queerest of sensations, as if she was on a roller coaster ride that lasted only moments, and they were there.  
  
"This is to be your room." Lucius motioned around the spacious cavern. Compared to her room in Boston...the room itself was a mansion...let alone the house! She nodded numbly as she looked around. There was a huge canopy, king-sized bed against the opposite the door, and the room had a fireplace glowing happily in the middle of the wall directly across from the foot of the bed. There was a door to the hall that stood open, as noted, to the left of the bed, to the right of the bed on the opposite wall was a door that Iana assumed led to the bathroom. A third door, the closet, she supposed, was against the same wall that the bed stood against, and finally a door in the corner of the wall that the fireplace was on that led to...wherever it led to.  
  
"That door..." He was pointing to the 'bathroom' door. "Leads to my son's room, where all of his playthings and other necessities are. That one..." The 'closet' "Is your toilet room. There's a shower, a Jacuzzi, and all of the things a woman should need. See me if you need anything different. And that one..." He was pointing to the final door. "Is your closet, all of your clothes and any other items that you ask for will be brought to you from your home. Do not hesitate to ask me or my...friend...Narcissa, if you need anything."  
  
"Thank you." Iana smiled faintly, then she looked around the room and sat on the huge, comfortable bed. "It's so big...I'm going to get lost..."  
  
"Lets hope not." Lucius sat beside her and looked down at her with something akin to a smile on his face. "Not to say that I would mind rescuing you..." She laughed and gave him a little shove at this, "But I don't think you'd like being lost. There are some most unpleasant things in this house." His expression softened and he opened his mouth to say more when a beautiful woman walked into the room. "Here comes one of them now..." his voice was just barely a whisper, causing Iana to smile just faintly.  
  
"THERE you are, Lucius." She looked like she had just smelled something nasty, and with the way she glared at Lucius and Iana, Iana figured that it must have been one of them. "That nasty little BRAT that you call a son just shit his pants again! I'm going to beat him black and blue!!!" She crossed on her way to the nursery...but found the access rather blocked when Lucius beat her to the door.  
  
"You will do no such thing. Lay a hand on Draco and I shall personally make sure that my lord gets his wish...that you follow in Amanda's footsteps." He snarled, and Iana took a step away from him, betraying her fright. This seemed to calm the woman as well, and she immediately backed off. "He is my son, not yours. Amanda's, not yours and you will NEVER be his mother, Narcissa." So that was Narcissa...well then...this was going to be interesting...  
  
Iana heard a soft cry from the room beyond Lucius and, letting her mothering instinct take over, she moved past the bickering pair and into the child's room. Seeing the baby, she smiled. He was an adorable platinum-haired infant...around a year old...his eyes were a dark obsidian in color, but Iana had a feeling that they'd turn lighter with age. "Hey there!" She cooed to the baby. "What's your name?" She lifted him from his crib and sniffed at his diaper. "Whoo! Peyew!"  
  
The baby giggled as she set him down on the changing table and changed him. She carefully cleaned him up and chose some clothes to get him out of the pajamas that he'd been in. She lifted him and settled him comfortably on her hip, smiling and tickling him. "Who's my boy?" She smiled, feeling a bit of regret. She loved this platinum haired sweetheart already. Swinging him around, she then began dancing to an imaginary beat with him to keep his mind off of the shouts from the other room.  
  
Draco giggled and clapped. He didn't know who this new woman was...but she was much more enjoyable than sissy had been. Sissy had been only five...but she'd been forced to take care of him. Sissy hadn't liked him. He took away from Sissy's time with Daddy. He sensed that this lady was much happier than Sissy had been, however, and he already loved her. Clapping his hands, he squealed his delight to the world as she twirled him around in a dance.  
  
Iana didn't even notice that Lucius and Narcissa's argument had died down and that the former was standing in the door of the nursery watching her dance with his son. Lucius couldn't explain how the young woman before him made him feel...he couldn't describe his incredible love for her...he was tempted to...and why couldn't he? Iana looked up in surprise as Lucius stepped in.  
  
"Excuse me, sir." He said, formally, to Draco. "May I have this dance?" Draco, thinking it was all good fun, giggled as Lucius took him from Iana and sat him in his crib, before sweeping the young woman into a splendid dance. The girl's cheeks glowed with a red pallor, a blush of happiness and life...one that Lucius instinctively knew that he'd kill to keep on her cheeks. He dipped her back, his gray eyes never leaving her brown ones, and then they were off again.  
  
Lucius spun Iana as the dance ended, and then he caught her snugly against him, their eyes locking again. Her eyes searched his, her soft, pink lips curved with a gentle grace that showed her youth and beauty. He couldn't resist...he lowered his lips to hers. As he'd imagined, her lips were warm and gentle, yielding and delicious. His eyes closed on their own volition as he deepened the kiss, feeling her respond in kind.  
  
'Oh God, Oh God, Oh God, Oh God!' Was the only thing that Iana could think as she felt his lips, firm and delicate, press into hers. He held her close, and she yielded without hesitation as his tongue pressed at her lips. She felt his tongue gently explore the depths of her mouth, and she responded with equal fervor as his hands slowly slid up and down her back, pulling her closer. Her arms slid automatically around the back of his neck, holding him to her for as long as he wanted to stay close. Their kiss might have gone further, but Draco...tiring of the game...let out a babbled protest.  
  
Slowly, reluctantly, the two parted. Lucius struggled to breathe...nobody had ever done that to him before...it was like she took everything he was made of and turned it into mush. The very thought of her reaction to him made him squirm, wondering how she'd be if he ever took it any further than a simple kiss such as the one they'd just finished sharing. Iana, in the meanwhile, had turned back to Draco, and Lucius couldn't help feeling a bit jealous as the young woman picked up his son and cradled him, setting him down and smiling as he ran off.  
  
"I'm gonna get you!" She called, teasing him, as she walked off after the toddler. Lucius could hear the peals of laughter from the baby as the woman followed him, purposely letting him get ahead of her...not once speeding up to hurt the child's ego. He smiled. She would be good for the young Draco...she'd be good for all of them. He walked out of the nursery to see Iana scoop Draco up, pretending to be a monster, and roar and tease him happily.  
  
Iana looked up to meet Lucius' eyes over the head of the baby, and he could see the happiness in them. "I think I'll like it here." She said, softly. "I already like the company..." Lucius felt his cheeks heating up. This was foolish! Malfoys didn't blush! Never, never, never! That was a fact that had been drilled into the young man that Lucius had been at the young age of four, when he'd still been a shy little boy. But still...this woman was beautiful, sweet, and kind. He knew from experience that she was kind. He hadn't forgotten how she'd healed him without comment or question when he'd been in the muggle hospital and nobody else had been able to make him feel better.  
  
"I'm glad." He said, softly. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. What's mine is yours." Even from where he was standing, he could see the shiver run down her body, and that one reaction pleased and terrified him more than anything else ever had. Even with his dear Amanda, he'd been a strong, never-ending bottle of cool, dispassionate calmness. And yet, one day with this brown-haired vixen had reduced him to a blushing mass of...mush.  
  
He was mush. Sure, he knew attraction...he'd been so attracted to Amanda that nothing had been able to tear him from her while she'd lived...but love? Pfft...it was beyond him...or so he'd once thought. Now? He was mush. That metaphor described it all. Mush. He. Was. Mush. Nothing else to it. A warm, gooey pile of mush who wanted to take that hot little body under him and ravage it in ways the nobody else ever had and that nobody else ever would...WOAH! WAIT A SECOND HERE MALFOY!  
  
Mush...he was mush...No! He was Malfoy. He was Lucius Malfoy. He had to do something to get away from her...he had to do something to...oh hell with it. He had to have the sweet, succulent body that was playing with his son. He needed her like he'd never needed anything...he sighed. It was going to be a long night. Bad enough that his insomnia had been acting up lately...he'd never been able to sleep unless under sleeping potions or with someone.  
  
"I...have some things to attend to. Make yourself at home, Iana. I'll talk to you soon." He smiled at her as he walked out of the room and down the hall. Boy was that close...he would never survive at this rate. Hell...he didn't WANT to survive at this rate...not if he couldn't have her. But that was not the point. Bad Lucius...bad. You are mush. Hot, delicious mush...as delicious as...GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER! "I need a holiday..." He groaned as he ran a hand through his long blonde hair.  
  
Iana looked down at Draco. "Wonder what that was about, Drakie?" She smiled and sat down on the floor with him, watching him put together a puzzle. How Narcissa could be so bitter towards this little boy was beyond Iana. She couldn't understand how ANYONE in their right mind wouldn't love this child. Well...she supposed that the polished sticks...wands, she corrected, for the millionth time...must make some people act funny. Personally, she saw no reason to use a pol...wand...when one could use wandless magic. Shrugging it off, she assumed that all people were entitled to their opinions and she couldn't change it. Smiling, she lifted Draco in her arms. "Let's get you off to bed."  
  
That night, Iana was awakened from her light slumber. Not by a baby's cry, as she assumed she would be, but by a bloodcurdling scream from down the hall. She was instantly out of her bed and, grabbing her robe, into the baby's room. Seeing that Draco slept peacefully, she walked carefully out of her room and looked up and down the hall. Spying nobody, she frowned fiercely and began following her instinct. She came to a door and knocked carefully.  
  
"C-come in..." She heard what was unmistakably Lucius' voice, but she also heard the underlying tremor of fear and pain. She obeyed, immediately, and slowly opened the door. When she looked in, she wished that she hadn't been so quick to obey. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of a bare- chested, messy haired Lucius, and she found herself longing to run her hands over his muscular chest and arms. Forcing herself to breathe, Iana moved into the room quietly.  
  
Lucius was having much the same thoughts as he stared at Iana. He couldn't quite find his breath as he watched her approach him. On a silent, unspoken agreement, she slid into bed beside him, and he slid over just slightly to make room for her. One of her hands came up to caress his cheek, and he had to force himself to keep his breathing steady as they both leaned forward, their eyes closing as their lips met...that night, two lovers met in an age-old dance that only through true love can be accomplished perfectly. Neither had any qualms about the future or the past, there was only the present. There was only each other.  
  
A few months passed in relative peace...but Narcissa had begun complaining to her older brother, Voldemort himself, that Iana was taking over HER fiancé. Neither Lucius, nor Iana, staged open revolt...but Iana's gentle questions about Voldemort and the World of Witchcraft and Wizardry had planted seeds of doubt in Lucius' mind about his unquestionable beliefs. Voldemort, in turn, gave Narcissa firm orders to watch Iana and Lucius ONLY. Not to move against them. The two had begun sleeping every night in Lucius' king-sized bed, as Draco was sleeping through the night and wasn't likely to wake up...and even if he did, Lucius charmed the nursery to let he and Iana know when the baby needed them.  
  
Though Voldemort admired the strong-willed young woman who had so much power and so little training, he would not stand for the doubts planted in Lucius' mind. He held out to his kid-sister's will for a short while, but eventually gave in. The au pair had to go. And so, when Lucius accepted the DeathEaters' banquet into his home, he had no idea that all hell was about to be brought down on the girl that he loved and everything she stood for in his life. Voldemort quietly and quickly would sever the links that the girl had to his favorite DeathEater. A quick 'Obliviate' and a banishing charm should serve...the former for Lucius and the latter for Iana. The happy couple had no idea of the turmoil that was about to wreak itself up on them...  
  
"Lucius...may I speak with you?" Iana asked as she walked into the banquet hall. She'd had her seventeenth birthday bash with Lucius the week before, and now she'd agreed to help decorate for the DeathEaters' annual banquet. And so, lifting up several black tablecloths, she began putting them over the tables lined out there. "It's rather important." She used her innate magic to begin lifting decorations into place.  
  
"Yes?" Lucius replied, taking a rather heavy statue from Iana and using a quick 'Wingardium Leviosa' to put it into place. "What is it, my darling dearest?" He still couldn't believe how quickly he'd fallen for the beautiful woman who had all but adopted his son as her own. Draco had said his first word the day before...he'd said, "Mama" and it was to Iana...not Narcissa. Lucius couldn't say he blamed the boy. Under Iana's gentle prompting, Draco had even managed to say "Dada" a few days later.  
  
"Well..." Iana started. "I'm..." She was cut off, at that moment, by a rather annoying skunk. Yes, Miss Pepe Le Pew herself, Narcissa Riddle. Iana would have given the older woman the nickname "Ratface" but that seemed to be too respectful to the contemptible slut that wanted to marry Lucius.  
  
"Lucius! It has to be perfect! My BROTHER will be here at any minute and I don't want your stupidity or this bitch's muddy fingers muddling things up." Lucius and Iana both stopped their work to glare daggers at the woman as she continued. "These tablecloths have GOT to go...so distasteful...who picked them out?" When Iana opened her mouth to say that Narcissa, herself, had picked them out, she was cut off. "Never mind...just replace them. ON IT, SERVANT GIRL! Now...Lucius...My brother wants our formal engagement by the end of the week...if it's going to happen...now, you were saying something when I walked in, dear?" She finally let Iana speak.  
  
Iana tried not to let her heartbreak show in her eyes. Narcissa had never let her forget that Lucius was marrying HER and not Iana...and that nothing that happened would change that. Iana looked up at Lucius, her eyes showing him her love. "It's nothing." She said, quietly. "Nothing at all." She turned and began taking the tablecloths off, as she'd been ordered.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! LEAVE THE TABLECLOTHS ALONE!" Narcissa roared...more than pleased at being able to so manipulate Iana. "Now then, Lucius, we need to get the entire hall decorated before...OH TOO LATE! Muggle, you decorate the hall...Come along Lucius, we need to greet the DeathEaters." Lucius cast a helpless glance over his shoulder at Iana as she shrugged and continued decorating. She heard a telltale pop and sighed, wondering who she faced this time.  
  
Turning, she saw Voldemort, himself. "Bring him in, Narcissa!" He called, drawing his wand. He hadn't seen Iana, and she slid behind a table. She saw Lucius float in, in a full body bind with Narcissa beside him. Lucius stared in betrayed fear at Voldemort as the latter lifted his wand. "I'm so sorry about this, Lucius...I know you love the girl...but you can't anymore. Obliviate!"  
  
Iana watched Lucius' eyes cloud over and clear again and she knew...without a doubt...that her stay was up. She snuck out of the hall through the back way and, only stopping to pack her things magically, she left the Malfoy Manor without looking back. Crying, she fled into the woods that, when she'd been touring with Lucius, he'd called the Timeless Woods. She'd asked him why that was.  
  
He'd smiled "Because one night in there is one year out here...or so the rumor goes." And then he'd kissed her, and the only thing that she knew beyond him for many hours was that she was completely and utterly in love with him. Ironic, really...a month and a half later she was two months pregnant and running from the very man whose baby she was bearing. Not really him...she corrected. She'd never have to run from Lucius...she was running from the empty shell that Narcissa and Voldemort had made him with one simple spell.  
  
She slept for three nights in the forest, before emerging on the other side somehow at a castle. She felt an urge to be elsewhere, but was easily able to ignore it as she walked up to the gates and slowly pushed them open, moving onto the grounds of the large castle. Slightly confused, she moved up and knocked forlornly on the huge doors of the great fortress. They opened of their own will, it seemed...and she walked inside quietly. "Hello?" Her voice was soft, yet the structure of the halls made her voice echo gently.  
  
"Ah, Miss Salem. I can't say that I didn't expect you." She turned to face an old man with twinkling blue eyes. "Though I must say...three years is a bit much." She stared at him as he walked down the hall to her. She could tell without asking that this was Albus Dumbledore...Lucius had spoken in length of the famous wizard...that meant that the castle that she stumbled upon must have been Hogwarts. Great...she was pregnant, and she'd arrived at the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry...wait...three years?  
  
"T-three years?" She asked, slightly confused. What was he implying? That she'd been wandering for three years? Nonsense...she'd only left the Malfoy Manor three days ago. She'd arrived at this castle through no fault of her own...really! She'd just stumbled upon it! "Three years ago I had no idea that this world existed...sir...no offence, or anything...but three years ago it was impossible that you could expect me."  
  
He held up a hand to silence her. The insolence of him! She opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it and held her tongue. "The infant, Harry Potter, brought about the end of Voldemort's reign three years ago, Iana. You were in the Timeless Forest...and so you were preserved perfectly for those three years...when your baby is born, she'll be fine...don't worry about anything going wrong due to the...natures...of your preservation." He indicated her swelling stomach. "Now, come along...I'll begin your training with a wand...and when your daughter comes to school here, you can teach here. Deal?"  
  
Iana hesitated. She wasn't usually tempted to take these types of deals...finally, she nodded. "Deal." She shook his hand. After all...what did she have to lose? She could get a job, her baby would be supported...and she'd be in a protective environment for her baby to grow up. She already knew what the baby's name would be, whether it was a boy or a girl, and she was eager to learn about the craft that had taken her love from her by force...she was going to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts...and that was that. 


	2. Jewel

~*11 years Later.*~  
  
Draco sauntered into the Great Hall and sat in his normal place at the Slytherin Table. Fourteen years had passed since Iana fled the Malfoy Manor. Draco could remember...he knew who'd driven the lady that he'd first called "Mom" away. He knew who'd hurt his mother and driven her away. Voldemort. His father had become cold and empty when Iana had left...and Draco blamed that on Voldemort, too. He sighed and lowered his head to the cool table. Feeling eyes on him, however, he lifted his head once again, swiftly. His eyes swept the Great Hall before settling on a stern-looking female professor. She had long, straight, silky brown hair, and her eyes bore into Draco's, even from where she was sitting. Shivering, Draco nudged the person sitting next to him.  
  
"Zambini...who's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" He looked back up at the woman sitting there, making small talk with Dumbledore. Her eyes no longer bored into Draco. Rather, she seemed to be watching the doors to the Great Hall for something important. The boy beside Draco studied her for a few moments before shrugging and looking back towards this year's flock of First Years. Since Voldemort had come back, many of the muggleborns from Draco's class had been dying out. Draco didn't protest, but he'd long since refused to accept a dark mark, saying that he'd just spy for the dark side...he didn't want to actively involve himself. Shaking himself from his reverie, Draco turned to watch the sorting.  
  
Professor McGonagall stood with her normal bench, scroll, and sorting hat at the front of the hall, waiting for the First Year Students to calm down. Seeing that they were as calm as they were going to get, she clapped her hands for silence. Only when the hall was completely and utterly quiet, did the woman begin. "Avery, Melissa." The sorting hat was placed on the young girl's head.  
  
"SLYTHERIN!" The hat roared. Draco and the other Slytherin's smirked. Draco looked up at the Teacher's table to see the brown-haired Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher frowning in disapproval. He could practically see her eyes sadden as she watched the line of First Years move forward. Draco arched an eyebrow. She was a strange one. He didn't think he'd ever seen a stranger teacher...but then again, they'd had some strange ones, without a doubt. He stared at her as she nodded slowly, smiling as if to comfort someone. Probably a First Year...shrugging he turned back to watch as McGonagall reached the M's.  
  
"Malfoy, Jewel!" Draco fell out of his chair. To his knowledge, his father was an only child...as had his Grandfather been. Choking, the 15-year-old watched a beautiful platinum-haired little girl approach the Transfiguration Professor. She stopped and looked towards the teacher's table and, following her gaze, Draco saw the mysterious teacher nod her encouragement once again. He turned his eyes back to the young girl as she sat nervously on the stool and put her hands in her lap. He arched an eyebrow. She looked uncannily like...Lucius...but no. Draco knew better than to think that his father had had any other children. He and Narcissa had never even shared each other's beds.  
  
Draco jolted when the Sorting hat roared out, "SLYTHERIN!" He looked at the young girl walking slowly towards the table...looking as if she might bolt back to the teachers' table at any second. On impulse, he smiled at her, and was rewarded in kind. The girl spotted an empty seat down by Pansy Parkinson, but everyone shifted down, blocking her from sitting there. Draco, growing irrationally angry at their treatment towards the young girl, stood up and walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her back to sit beside him. He glanced up at the teacher's table one last time and was rewarded with the new teacher's smile of approval.  
  
"Here." He said, quietly, to the girl. "Be careful...the people here are brutal." He sat back down as Professor Dumbledore stood up. Turning to the girl at his elbow. "So...uh...who's your dad?" He asked, arching an eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry...it's just that it's not every day I meet another Malfoy...as far as I know, my father and that whore that he was forced to marry haven't ever had...that kind...of a relationship. To his surprise, the young girl giggled, pleasantly and gently.  
  
"I'm Lucius' daughter. See the new teacher up there?" She pointed, and then waved. Draco watched as, seeing this, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher waved back. "She's my mum. Great person, really...She doesn't really talk about my daddy much. 'Specially since Voldemort's back. But she did tell me that Daddy would have loved me no matter what...if Voldemort hadn't Obliviated him. Mummy said that Voldemort Obliviated Daddy before she could tell him her news." Draco stared at her in disbelief. "What? Did I do something wrong?" She suddenly looked unsure, and Draco rested a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"No, it's just that...you're my little sister..." Jewel nodded. "Well...I don't believe we've formally met. I'm Draco Xavier Malfoy. And you are?" He held out his hand, formally. He couldn't believe it. Lucius had had a...daughter? And his own SON didn't know about it? Wait...from the sound of it, Lucius didn't know, either. Draco remembered how cold and distant Lucius had become after Mum had left, and with the information that Jewel had just given him, understood why.  
  
"I'm Jewel Lucia Malfoy." She said, smiling up at him and taking his hand. "I'm glad to finally meet you, Draco. Mum said you were a cutie when you were a baby. She has pictures and everything." The First Year was rewarded with his blush. She giggled and hugged him before turning and looking up at the teacher's table as Dumbledore began speaking. Crackpot old fool...Draco cursed to himself...I wanna talk to my sister...  
  
"Welcome back students! First Years, please note that the Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden. Hence it's name. Also, everyone please welcome your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Iana Salem!" Draco watched as the woman stood. Her silk, light-blue robes were little more than a loose cover of her body, and they shimmered in the light perfectly. And Draco could see the warmth in her face, even from so far away. Jewel, he noticed, had stood up and was clapping furiously, a smile on her young face. "Also...due to recent...events...we are inviting Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy to spend a week teaching you all to duel...properly." Draco grinned, remembering Gildroy Lockhart's dueling club in their second year. He clapped furiously for his father...excluding his stepmother in the process. He noticed that Professor Salem's smile turned to a frown at the name of his parents, and she turned to Dumbledore with an obvious bone to pick. "That is all...let's eat." Dumbledore said, hurriedly, and turned to the woman beside him.  
  
"Uh-oh...he didn't tell mum that Dad would be here..." Jewel whispered to Draco as she took a bite of a chicken leg. "That's bad. She doesn't like the thought of daddy being around...but knowing Professor D, he'll ask Mum to help out...Ugh..." Draco looked down at her as she shook her head, wondering what was so bad about it. "She'll kill whoever she duels if she's mad...unless Professor D reminds her..." Jewel shook her head and continued eating. "Poor Mum."  
  
The next day, Draco walked into his first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson that year...with the Gryffindors. Damn them. Professor Salem was also teaching wandless magic classes, so Professor Dumbledore merely had her double up Gryffindor with Slytherin and Ravenclaw with Hufflepuff. The students sat quietly, waiting for the teacher, as they looked around in awe at the room. Professor Salem had put all sorts of tanks and cases around the room, showing off practically every monster known to man. The door to the office opened after a few minutes, and the regal professor walked through. Draco glanced over and saw open admiration in Potter, Weasley, and Granger's eyes. The class watched as the professor picked up a clipboard and looked over it before turning her gaze to them. When she spoke, her voice was tightly controlled, as if she'd just had a very emotional argument.  
  
"There will be no excess wand waving or book opening in this class. I don't want to see any rivalries put into effect. The information you gain in this class with is difficult and unpleasant and more often than not, many of you will have to see me for easier assignments. I will take away your wands and your assignments at the first sign of any arguments or disagreements. When defending against the Dark Arts, it is best to work together as a team...no matter who is on the team and no matter what the feelings within the team is." She let her eyes travel over the groups. "For these reasons, and more, Professor Dumbledore has agreed to allow me to create a year-round project for all of your classes...including Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Wandless Magic, and Care of Magical Creatures. Classes that it will NOT be required in will be Herbology, Divination." She sneered out the word 'divination' as if she'd had troubles with Professor Trelawney before. "Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, and any anonymous class that I haven't named. It will, however, bring you extra credit in this class and all of the others named and not named if you DO sit together when it is not mandatory. There will be six of you in each group...and I expect you not to whine or gripe...lest you want to attempt transfiguration without a wand. I understand that wandless magic has become an official required class, so I will be seeing you more than you might like. But I warn you, I will not accept playing around in either of my classes." Draco thought she looked rather dangerous at that moment.  
  
"Now...you will answer with a simple "present" when I call your name." After roll, the professor crossed her arms and looked at the class. "I will now be handing out your assignments. I have learned from the other professors who've been with you for the past five years who your archrivals are...and I have paired you up accordingly." Draco felt ice run through his veins...she wouldn't. "The first group will be sitting at this table right here." She put her left hand at the very front table. "And will consist of: Potter, Weasley, Granger, Parkinson, Zambini and..." she glanced at her list and Draco dared to hope. "Malfoy." The name pained her, though Draco was the only one to notice. "In this table." She moved to the next table. "Patil, Finnigan, Longbottom, Crabbe, Goyle, and Bulstrode." And then, after four more groups, "I think that does it for this class." Then, seeing that they weren't moving "MOVE!"  
  
Immediately, it was as if a bomb had gone off. Everyone was scrambling to his or her assigned group. Professor Salem smirked and clapped her hands. "Very nice. Now...I want you in this order." She gave them their seating arrangements and still had time to assign a four-page essay for homework before class was over. She smirked, settling down to her desk quietly, looking over her notes. She didn't have to glance up to know who had stayed behind. "Do you make it a habit to remain behind when your classmates rush from the room at the mere thought of how horrible I'm going to be? Comparing me to your own dear, Potions Professor?" An amused smile twisted her lips. "And for one that doesn't even know me. Congratulations. You have guts, Mr. Malfoy."  
  
Draco arched an eyebrow as he finally stood and gathered his things. "How so? Because I listened to what my half-sister told me instead of tuning her out like I'm sure seven-eighths of the world does? Jewel is a lovely girl." He left his bag on the table and walked up to the professor's desk. "I missed you, you know. When you left. It was empty without someone to play with all of the time. Someone who humored me." He knew he'd hit a nerve when she twitched, but continued anyways. "Father changed, you know...From what Jewel tells me, it must have been the Obliviate...he was cold and empty. He even raised a hand against me a few times." That got her attention. The professor's eyes were trained on his face, cool and calculating.  
  
"I put that behind me years ago, Mr. Malfoy." She said, deadly quiet. "Nothing that happened then is to be reminisced with my student...no matter if that student called me mom for the first time in his life or not. That bastard, Voldemort, took Lucius and all chances that I had with him from me, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. I don't expect you to understand, Draco...but when I fled from that mansion for my life...I left everything that I loved and cared for behind. Jewel is my life now."  
  
Draco was stunned. He hadn't expected her to be so blunt...I mean sure he'd wondered what had happened...but the way she spoke of it... "Do you miss Father?" He asked, watching her face. A variety of emotions crossed her face ranging anywhere from pain to hatred and back again flitted across her voice one after the other. He thought maybe he'd pushed too far, but the professor sighed and nodded slowly. She stood and walked to the stairway that would take her up to her office.  
  
"More than anything, Mr. Malfoy." She said, softly. "I suppose you'll need a note to get into Severus' class, won't you? Right this way, Mr. Malfoy." Draco couldn't help feeling a sharp, shooting wave of disappointment, as she reverted back to the use of his last name, rather than his first name. Sitting down, she scribbled out a note and handed it to him. As he left, however, he didn't notice Iana's eyes trail after him...and had he noticed, he might...just MIGHT...have noticed the wistful look that filled her eyes as she thought of him as a baby and what she and Lucius might have had...had Narcissa not interfered. Shaking herself out of her reverie, the woman smiled as a familiar face walked in. "Hello there, Jewel."  
  
Draco sighed in frustration. NOBODY had dared to take this step towards "peace" between Slytherin and Gryffindor before. Which was probably why, a voice argued inside of his head, Professor Salem deemed it necessary that you do something like this. What, with Voldemort back and all...Hogwarts had to be united against him. Draco shuddered at the thought of Voldemort's plans to take over Hogwarts. Lucius had bragged about them, and Draco- in a panicked rush- had sent desperate owls to all of his friends...well, the ones he KNEW were against Voldemort. He'd even sent panicky letters to the wonder trio...though what good that did, he didn't know.  
  
He walked into Potions, and was just making his way back towards his usual seat beside Crabbe and Goyle, when Granger had looked up from the finishing touches of her summer essay. "Malfoy!" She called, making a face at the thought. Blaise and Pansy were already sitting there; the former was having a petty argument with Potter and Weasley about whether or not the Chudley Cannons deserved to win the cup. He grinned. Seemed Blaise had finally found someone to side with her on the Cannon's side. She and Weasley were arguing heatedly over whether Mistrille Banchessa or Tibbalt Miffin was a better seeker. Seems Weasley thought they'd have been better off had Mistrille retired much sooner, and Blaise stuck by her firm beliefs that Tibbalt was folly and Mistrille was much better. He sat down in the only available chair, the one between Granger and Pansy. The latter of which was speaking with Potter about whether or not Snape was a greasy git or a greased hog. Seeing as neither Pansy, nor Draco, knew what a greased hog was, it was fairly amusing to the other two listeners...namely Potter and Granger.  
  
Without warning, Granger turned to Pansy and grinned. "Hi, I don't believe we've properly met. I'm Hermione Granger." She held out her hand in a formal gesture. Draco, Blaise, Potter, Weasley, and Pansy all looked at her oddly before Pansy caught on and grinned. She took Granger's hand and shook it firmly, and Draco and the others could see that friendship was already beginning to blossom between the two girls. Pansy had changed a bit over the summer, having spent time with her family in the Americas...none of which were DeathEaters...and she'd immediately joined up with the "non-DeathEater" branch of Slytherin. Namely: Draco, Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Millicent.  
  
"Pansy Parkinson." Pansy said. She smiled at Hermione, who smiled back. They then, unexpectedly and almost on an unspoken whim, they both whirled on two members of the opposite house, introducing themselves. The rest of the class, staring at the three most influential members of each House, goggled for only moments before following suit. Thus began the strong, albeit fairly temporary...as it would most likely NOT stretch to the other years...friendly relationship between Gryffindor and Slytherin.  
  
Iana glared daggers at Dumbledore as she walked into the Great Hall, where the Malfoys waited, several weeks later. As her daughter had predicted...she'd been "volunteered" to help out, as she held more skills than most witches around. She was dressed in an original dueling robe, given to her by Lucius himself on her seventeenth birthday. The young professor stepped quietly through the students and over to Lucius and Narcissa. The latter gave her a death glare and nodded slowly. Iana returned the nod, emotionlessly, and turned to offer her hand to Lucius. "Mr. Malfoy." She said, her voice ringing with cool, almost desperate control. "I'm Iana Salem. I...volunteered...to help out with the dueling...as my skills have come in handy over past years."  
  
She felt her heart flutter, in spite of herself, when he gave her a tight smile and took her hand. She was partially glad that he didn't remember...had he known who she was, she'd never have survived through the introductions, even. Turning to Narcissa, she nodded tightly a second time. "Narcissa." She said, not bothering to be respectful. After the greeting was returned, she turned and walked coolly to the end of the table, mounting it and waiting, her hand on her hip, resting right beside her obviously placed wand. "Students!" Her voice rang with authority, and even Narcissa was surprised. "I believe you are here to learn, not to chatter." With that, she moved back down into the crowd as Lucius and Narcissa mounted the table.  
  
"Students." Narcissa's voice was cold. "I assume, as your Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor has been so VERY cooperative, that you all have lists of the hexes, curses, and counters that were given to her. Yes?" When the heads of the students nodded, she smirked. "Very good. Now, the fine points of dueling are to bow, walk ten paces, turn, and fire. As my husband and..." she was cut off, rather conveniently, by Lucius...who had not missed the tension between his wife and Iana earlier.  
  
"My dear...why not let you and an old rival provide the demonstration? I'm slowing, after all." Iana visibly tensed. Did he remember...? Surely not...he'd just sensed their tension. "What do you say, Professor Salem?" His dark gray eyes bored into hers, and she didn't trust herself to speak. Instead, she mounted the table once again, drawing her wand easily. Eleven years worth of training and learning had insured that she was as familiar with the instrument as she was with her own innate ability. She'd never shown off to Narcissa, and so held the upper hand. Narcissa was glaring daggers at her, as if she was wondering if her Obliviated husband was remembering a few too many things. Iana stared right back and, on an impulse, spoke.  
  
"Of course, Lucius. But first...if I might do something to insure the...fairness...of the duel?" At his nod, she smirked and lifted her wand. "Shieldus Maximus." A visible shield shimmered around the two duelers, and settled into place. The duelers saluted and bowed before turning and walking to their respective ends of the tables. Turning, Narcissa struck an obscene pose, while Iana remained motionless, her wand easily at the ready. Wondering what trick this was, Narcissa narrowed her eyes and studied the woman before her before lifting her wand in the swish and flick motion that showed her spell casting.  
  
Iana beat her to it. Her swish and flick was finishing as Narcissa's was beginning, and her voice rang out clearly. "Romulus, Rotatius." Just as she finished speaking, Narcissa's own spell was set off...but as Iana's spell finished and its effect took over, Narcissa and Iana were immediately switched...meaning that Narcissa got the brunt of her own spell, and Iana was calm and just as uninjured as before. At the older woman's amazed glance, Iana spoke, her voice cool and quiet. "I've had training."  
  
"I should have guessed. That Crackpot Headmaster never was one to hire under qualified teachers...even if he IS a mugglelover." Narcissa hissed. "I'm not surprised at all that he trained you." Jewel, in the meanwhile, had moved up beside Draco and tugged on his sleeve. He lifted her easily and let her sit on his shoulders to watch. Seeing her daughter watching, Iana grit her teeth and concentrated on Narcissa...the bitch who'd taken away her baby's father...who'd reduced the warmest, gentlest, kindest...Gods, she was still in love with him...sweetest man to a cold, hard shell. Iana's heart hardened, and her normally warm brown eyes turned ice-cold and filled with hatred.  
  
"Uh-Oh, Drakie..." Jewel whispered, from on top of Draco's shoulders. "Mummy's going to hurt her..." Draco, not knowing what to do, offered the child his hand. She took it and he gave hers a comforting squeeze. Hermione and Pansy, who'd become fast friends and were basically inseparable as of that point, stood beside them with Blaise, Harry, and Ron. The six Fifth-Years stared up at the table, holding their breaths in anticipation for the inevitable duel. None of them had quite managed to miss the tension flying between their professor and all wondered how Lucius had. (Lucius: Duhhhhhh...did I miss something...?)  
  
"Wonder why they're so pissy towards each other..." Hermione whispered to Pansy. "I didn't think it was in Professor Salem to be pissy..." Indeed, after the last day, nobody had ever seen that firm, pissy side of their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. When asked, she'd explained that it was just to insure that they did the work during the separation and that if they didn't behave, she'd REALLY become a witch and ride in on her broom. Pun intended.  
  
"Looked for a minute there like Narcissa was going to murder Lucius, too." Pansy replied. "You think maybe Prof. Salem and Lucius have something going on?" Hermione just shrugged. Pansy turned to Draco. "Psst! Draco!" When he turned, the blonde-haired Slytherin continued. "Is there something going on between the Prof. and your Dad?" When he shot them a warning look, he mouthed...quite angrily 'Later!' Wisely, Pansy and Hermione kept their noses to themselves for the rest of the duel...though they never stopped being curious.  
  
"Ferniculus!" Narcissa Malfoy roared, but was disappointed when her spell hit the shield put up at last minute by the Professor. "Romulus Ticklus!" She tried again, thinking she had Iana on the defensive. The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor wasn't just for show, however, and she easily shielded herself a second time. Time and again, she blocked Narcissa's attacks, just to further irritate and anger the elder woman. Narcissa was, indeed, growing ready to kill, when finally Iana stepped up to the plate, so to speak.  
  
"Garbulus Dumpus!" Iana called, grinning to herself as a rather large pile of Hippogriff poo buried Narcissa. The Malfoy was furious, to say the least. But Iana wasn't done. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The elder woman floated into the air, and Iana grinned. It had always been her favorite spell...the first spell that she'd ever seen. Iana smirked and, without warning, let Narcissa drop. Lucius was staring at Iana, trying to remember why he remembered her...in a vague way. Noticing this, Narcissa turned redder than Ron's hair. The teenagers exchanged amazed glances.  
  
"Petrificus Totalus!" Narcissa roared, dangerously. Her jaw dropped, however, when Iana once again got a shield into place. This time, however, it was a reflecting shield. Narcissa fell, completely stiff. Iana wasn't through. She didn't even bother lifting her wand this time, however, and Narcissa found herself bounding back and forth across the barrier that held the duelers on top of the table. Hard.  
  
Lucius stared. He stood. The outrage! That...WOMAN...couldn't handle his wife that way! But something held him back. Something told him that Professor Salem wouldn't let Narcissa be seriously injured. Sure enough, the professor stopped after mere minutes of this, dropping Narcissa cruelly to the table and dropping the barrier. She took off the body bind and turned, walking out of the Great Hall. Lucius, on a whim, followed.  
  
Iana couldn't believe that she'd lost her temper. She'd not had that problem since back in the early days...when she'd first gone to Albus for help. What would the dear, kind headmaster think of her now? She would probably be fired. Lucius Malfoy had considerable influence among the Governors of the school...and Narcissa had considerable influence among Lucius' "hidden identity." When she fled the Great Hall, her only thought was sanctuary. And with that thought came her dormitory. She moved to the hidden portrait of a pair of adorable five-year-old platinum-haired twins and spoke the password.  
  
"Dragon's Tears." She didn't care who heard at that moment, she just walked inside. Closing the door, Iana moved back into the bathroom that adjoined her room. Sinking into the tub, she let herself drift. Closing her eyes, she whispered. "Gods...I haven't been that angry since Voldemort Obliviated Lucius...Iana...you're a crazy bitch. If Albus fires you, it'll be your fault. You could always go back to the cathouse to pay Jewel's way through school. In NO WAY are you going to ask her father for help...Narcissa severed all ties to him that you had fourteen years ago. So there."  
  
"Shame." Iana jumped at the familiar voice. "I SO would love to get to know the child that I didn't know I had out of the woman that I didn't know I'd ever bedded." She looked over, stricken, to see none other than Lucius Malfoy. He was leaning on his cane, staring at her calmly. She wasn't fooled. Even after fourteen years, Lucius Malfoy was an open book for Iana. She saw the confusion battling with uncertainty within him, and she felt her heart go to him for the umpteenth time in fourteen years.  
  
"Lucius." She said, softly. "I didn't expect to see you here..." She paused and arched an eyebrow for emphasis. "And in a Mudblood Teacher's Bathroom, no less." She smirked as he noticeably flinched. Good. Damage that ego, girl! Damage it good! "Now. May I help you?" She arched an eyebrow and she noticed that he was beginning to turn slightly red with rage. Uh-Oh. Oops! No more damaging ego lines...you don't want to be dead yet! Jewel needs SOME help with schooling...and Albus can't give her what you can.  
  
"You might be able to. I come here expecting to teach my only child...a boy...and his peers how to duel. I arrive to find that Professor Severus Snape is cornering me and demanding to know exactly why I didn't inform him or the Dark Lord that I had a daughter, as well as a son. I'd like to know what the fuck is going on, myself, and I think you have answers. I don't know who the hell you are but I want answers and I want them now so I'm not moving until I have them! I'll stand right here." He tapped his cane for emphasis. "Here."  
  
Iana arched an eyebrow, amused. "Suit yourself...you might get a bit tired standing there, though." She stood from the bath and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around herself. She proceeded past him into her room and dressed while he was watching, smirking as she heard his exasperated sigh. He walked in behind her, and she knew that she'd won that battle. Good girl. Then she felt his hands on her shoulders. Uh-Oh...  
  
"Do I have to make myself any clearer, Miss Salem? I want my answers. I WILL have my answers." He told her, his voice chiding her angrily. Iana winced slightly. She didn't want to breach this with him. She'd been over him. She WAS over him. She was! So why...her subconscious betrayed her...are you shuddering at his touch? Damn.  
  
"Alright." Her voice was weary. "I'll help you understand..." She turned, now dressed in a pair of baby green muggle silk pajama pants and a matching tank top. She lifted her wand. He flinched, having seen what she could do. "Don't worry...I won't hurt you." She said, gently. "Oblivium." The wand was pointing at him and he noticed immediately that she spoke the counter-charm to the Memory-erasing charm 'Obliviate.' A flood of memories hit him. A young, brown-haired teenager spinning a platinum-haired baby boy...later, that same woman sliding into bed with him, holding him close...soothing away his latest nightmare.  
  
Memory after memory hit him, and his eyes widened with each memory. He saw her, laughing and happy, as she turned 17. He saw her trying to tell him something just days after her party. He saw Narcissa bullying her around as she just silently took it. He saw Narcissa dragging him from the Banquet Hall...and then he saw the woman hiding as Voldemort lifted his wand and said that fateful word. 'Obliviate.' Lucius staggered. He looked, shocked, down at Iana, and she turned and walked to the cupboard.  
  
"Iana..." He whispered, reaching for her. Ignoring him, she began unwarding and unlocking the cabinet beside the bed. Quietly, she picked up a book and walked back to the bed. "What's that...?" He asked as she sat down. She motioned him to sit and, without a word, handed him the pensieve/book. He looked through it, seeing every one of her memories of the hard years that he'd missed. Jewel's birth...her naming ceremony...her first step...everything had been meticulously recorded. He smiled with his daughter as he watched her grow up through the book...and he cried with "his" girls when their hearts were broken by a rogue wizard. He wanted desperately to kill the man who'd dared to hurt his dear Iana.  
  
As he watched Iana slowly come to terms with the life she was forcing herself to live, Lucius Malfoy felt a compassion that he'd only glimpsed before...when she'd been beside him. He saw the years through his love's eyes...and he could understand why she didn't speak any longer. He watched as Iana struggled to come to terms with her wand...he could literally feel the awkwardness in using the instrument after having used an innate ability for years. He watched as Jewel shrieked with joy, crying and laughing at the same time as she showed her mom her letter to Hogwarts. He watched Iana grit her teeth and endure her first class, and he watched the woman come to terms with the fact that he'd be coming to Hogwarts and she wouldn't be allowed to do anything.  
  
When the last page was turned, Lucius looked up to meet the woman who'd long ago stolen his heart and neglected returning it's eyes. He reached up out of habit and brushed some hair behind her ear. "My Iana...My heart...My soul...My love." He whispered. Iana stared at him. He'd seen some of the things she'd done in the worst years of her trainings...he'd watched her slit her wrists every day to relieve herself of the stress. He'd watched her nearly die, and then promise Dumbledore to never cut herself again. He'd watched her break her promise only a few times as she finally began getting over her anguish...and he still wanted her.  
  
Iana nearly choked as she moved into his arms, running her hands through his long, silky platinum-hair. He lowered his face to hers just slightly, for a chaste kiss, before they both melted together temporarily. Later that evening, as the students were filing out of the Great Hall slowly, Lucius and Iana walked quietly, together, out of the room and down to see Dumbledore. He'd protested, at first. But she'd insisted...begged, pleaded. He had refused to hear the names of Dumbledore's spies...saying that Narcissa would put him under Veritaserum at the first sign of suspicion...and that she might anyway.  
  
Dumbledore was pleasantly waiting in his office, watching Iana and Lucius fidget a bit. The man seemed uncomfortable and unhappy about something...but Iana looked less reserved than she once had. She looked almost human...instead of like an unsmiling porcelain doll. Albus had hoped...but not expected...the success of her plan to unite Hogwarts against Voldemort to cheer her. Now, it seemed, that the key to her heart had been unlocked. Dumbledore smiled at them expectantly, waiting. Lucius spoke up, finally. "Albus...I want to spy against Voldemort for you."  
  
Dumbledore wasn't surprised often...but this time he was. He literally fell out of his chair at those nine words. The words that he'd NEVER expected to hear. Obviously, however, Lucius wasn't finished. "I'm in his inner-circle...and you know that my wife..." He sneered as if the word 'wife' was a bad word. Indeed, any wife besides Iana WAS- for Lucius- a bad word. "Is Voldemort's younger sister. I'm certain that if I became a spy, you'd gain two...for Draco, I know, would agree with me."  
  
Dumbledore stared at Lucius. He'd heard Iana's descriptions of her love, but until now, hadn't believed them. They'd always seemed a "tad" farfetched for even the wise headmaster to believe. Now, however, it seemed that he had no choice. "Fare thee well, Lucius..." He stood and walked to the younger man. "I will, however, caution you that should you be caught, you would be executed." Before Lucius could comment, Dumbledore held up his hand to silence him. "However, the choice is yours. And you will not be without some protection. Professor Salem will teach you all of the wandless magic you can learn and I, myself, will put several wards on you...you will also be taught by our dear Professors Snape and Salem to ignore and override the effects of Veritaserum...but it is still difficult."  
  
Lucius had only to look at Iana to see that all he'd ever wanted in life was possible with her beside him. He ran a hand through her hair, contemplating the consequences. Finally, he nodded. "I'll do it." It didn't really shock him that Severus Snape was a spy...after all, hadn't he known it for years? Exactly. It was simply a matter of keeping an eye on your enemies, in Lucius' eyes. If any of their plans were spoiled too badly, Lucius was going to turn the Potions Master in. Now, however, he was glad that he HAD taken pity on the old professor. It might just have saved Lucius' soul. 


End file.
